CARDINAL NEWMAN SOCIETY, Nov. 13 — Leaders of Catholic
educational institutions and other Catholic organizations have endorsed a
statement calling on Catholic colleges and universities to conform with Church teachings on sexuality.

The statement is titled
“Addressing Same-Sex Attraction and the Virtue of Chastity on Catholic
Campuses.” It was distributed to participants at last month’s Catholic
Leadership Conference in Denver by the Cardinal
Newman Society and subsequently mailed to each of the U.S. bishops in advance of their annual meeting
this month in Baltimore.

The 55 signers include presidents
and trustees of AveMariaCollege,
Ave Maria University, ChristendomCollege, Franciscan University of Steubenville, MagdalenCollege, the International
Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, the National
Association of Private Catholic and IndependentSchools, and the Catholic
Family Network of home-schooling parents.

“Many Catholic colleges have been
tarnished by sex-related scandal in recent years, including homosexual
activism, rampant sexual activity among students, and recent revelations of
sexual abuse of students in Washington State,” said Patrick Reilly, president
of the Cardinal Newman Society. “It is
urgent that educators support the Church’s call to chastity, not only because
these are Catholic institutions, but because unhealthy behavior puts students
at risk physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

Christian Student Wins

THE KANSAS CITY STAR, Nov. 11 — MissouriStateUniversity has settled a
lawsuit filed by a Christian social-work student.

Emily Brooker,
a May 2006 graduate, alleged that professor Frank
Kauffman violated her freedoms of speech and religion by demanding that
students sign a letter supporting homosexuals who want to be foster parents. Brooker refused to sign the letter because it contradicted
her Christian beliefs.

According to the lawsuit, the
university’s School
of Social Work filed a
grievance against Brooker, claiming that by refusing
to sign the letter she had violated the school’s standards.

After the university investigated Brooker’s allegations, she was awarded $9,000 and granted
the right to attend MissouriState to pursue a
master’s degree in social work free of charge for two years. The university
also committed to clear Brooker’s official record of
the grievance.

Following the investigation,
Kauffman voluntarily gave up his post as director of the master of social work
program and was reassigned to non-classroom duties.

Inspired by Ave Maria

JACKSON CITIZEN
PATRIOT, Nov.
11 — AveMariaUniversity is in the process of
relocating from Ann Arbor, Mich.,
to Naples, Fla.,
but some of its professors are working to create an in-state replacement, the Michigan daily reported.

Four professors founded a new
school called Solidarity in September in Jackson,
Mich. Three of the four
professors also teach at Ave Maria.

Right now, the school has only 32
students and is not yet accredited. But the school’s founders plan to develop
the school into an accredited four-year college with more than 1,000 students,
modeled on the departing Ave Maria.

“We are picking up where Ave Maria left
off,” Thomas Grace, Solidarity’s chairman, told the Patriot. “Our draw is similar to Ave Maria, attracting high-school
graduates from all over. There are no Catholic colleges in this area, and there
is definitely a need for one.”